In Love with a Demon
by BrokenHearts159
Summary: Someone has fallen in love with Lorne.
1. Chapter 1

"I know you're there, watching me." Angel said. I sighed and walked out of my hiding spot with Gunn and Fred behind me. Angel turned around to face us. The dark night cloaked us and the cool summer, California breeze stroked my cheeks gently.

"We weren't spying." Fred said.

"Well, actually, we were." Gunn said.

"Come on, Gunn, really?" I questioned him. "Geez, with an attitude like that, I don't know how you stayed alive this long."

"Okay, we were." Fred said.

"Fred!"

"We've been a little concern for you. Wondering where you've been skulking off to these past few nights."

"I'm not skulking." Angel insisted.

"You should go after him." I said, looking over the edge of the rooftop to see Angel's son, Connor, leave the alley. "Talk to him, if that's what you want." Angel leaned against the edge and hung his head.

"What exactly do you want, Angel?" Gunn asked. "I'm only asking, because, well, you've been seeming kind of distracted. Like, maybe you're not as ready as you think to move on…without Connor and Cordy."

"And frankly, when your head's someplace else, we are into some serious floundering." Fred said. "You act like a guy with a clear agenda, always on the move but we don't know where we're going." Angel looked up at us with his brown eyes. He smiled.

"Come on." Angel said as he stood up and pushed past us to the door that lead to the stairs.

"For instance—" I muttered.

"Um, Angel, where are we going?" Gunn asked as we turned to follow Angel.

"On a little retreat." Angel answered. "The four of us."

"Oh, like a spiritual journey?" Fred asked.

"Whoa." I said. "You mean like that monastery you went to in Tibet?"

"Exactly." Angel grinned his answer.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAA

"Las Vegas?" I questioned Angel as we passed the sign. "Really?"

"Now this is my kind of retreat." Gunn said as we entered the heart of the city. Lights flashed everywhere. Red here, green there, blue up there and yellow down there. The stench of whiskey stung my nose and clouded my throat. The noise of girls yelling in excitement and the men's booming laugh drowned out my thoughts.

"I just thought we could all use a little getaway to decompress." Angel explained. "I know I haven't had a vacation in a while."

"But the reason we're here is to see Lorne, right?" Fred asked. My eyes grew wide at Lorne's name. A picture of him flashed through my mind. Tall, golden brown hair. Green soft skin with two small horns on his forehead and his eyes were a dark red. Not like a blood color like most people would think when they first see them but red like love. And the most important thing, his dark red wine lips. Lorne was an empathy demon. You sing a single note and he can tell you how you feel and what your future is.

"Absolutely." I tuned back into reality. "And maybe afterwards, we can check out…that Danny Gans guy I keep seeing billboards for."

"After Lorne reads you, to help you get back on your path?" I pressed on, wanting to be sure that we were definitely going to see Lorne.

"Yeah, whatever. Wow, this place sure has changed."

"Get out." Gunn said. "You never told me you've been to Vegas before."

"A few times. It's been a while though. Used to be dunes over there."

"Oh, it has been a while." Fred said. "They tore down the dunes ten years ago." Angel laughed.

"Not the casino, I mean, actual dunes. Bugsy used to call 'em, dung piles."

"Bugsy?" I questioned him. "Bugsy Siegel?"

"Yeah. Not one with words, I know, but the man he had a mean backhand on the tennis court. So what do you guys wanna do first?"

"Um, well, the place Lorne is singing is called the Tropicana." Gunn said.

"The Tropicana?" Fred asked. _"The _Tropicana? That can't be right."

"Why not?" I asked.

"The Tropicana's a pretty high profile casino, not some low key out of the way dive." Angel explained. "Looking the way Lorne does, he'd have to go someplace a little bit more discreet."

"How discreet, exactly?" Gunn asked. I looked away from Angel and looked to the right of us. There was a sign with big red letters that said Tropicana. Underneath that was a picture of Lorne singing. And underneath that were green words that said, _The Green Velvet Fog. _

"You guys go on in." I said. "I'll wait out here."

"You sure?" Fred asked. "You seemed awfully excited to see Lorne." I scoffed.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Go on."

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN NNNN

"You mean he ignored you?" I questioned Gunn and Fred as we sat at the blackjack table. "Completely?"

"Yeah, he just walked right by us." Gunn said.

"And he didn't even look in our direction." Fred said. "I mean, he did but he looked right through us." I took a sip from my White Russian.

"That's funny." I muttered, staring out into space as I took another sip. "I thought he would be happy to see you guys."

"Yeah, me too. I'm feeling really bad about this."

"Aw, don't feel guilty, babe." Gunn said. "If I had your head for numbers, I'd be counting cards too."

"Gunn, I think she means about Lorne." I said. "It's weird for him to just ignore his friends. It's not like him. I mean, take like out. It's _not _him."

"The guys on some old star trip, man. Who needs him?" I had the urge to get up and slam Gunn's head into the table but I managed to contain myself. _I do! I need him! I need Lorne! _The voice in my head screamed at me. I was about to listen to the voice and say it but Fred answered.

"Angel does." Fred answered. "I'm really worried about him, Charles." Fred and I looked over our shoulders to see Angel standing a couple yards away, looking around in curiosity. Fred brought her voice down to a whisper. "Okay, I know he was right to send Connor away. But with Cordelia gone, the loneliness must be unbearable for him."

"But Angel had to bear a whole lot more than that over the years." I said.

"So, Lorne or no Lorne, I think this trip's gonna do Angel a world of good." Gunn added.

"I hope so." Fred said.

"He's gonna be fine."

"Maybe you're right."

"But back to Lorne." I said.

"What about Lorne?" Gunn questioned me.

"Was you not listening to me, Gunn?"

"I was in and out." My left silver eye and my right gold eye glared at Gunn.

"She wishes that she knew what was going on with Lorne." Fred informed him before I could kill him.

"Well, let's find out." My eyes relaxed.

"What, now?"

"Hey, if it'll make my two honeys feel better, put their minds at ease, my fun can wait." My eyes harden again at _my two honeys. _"Or just my honey and my good friend." I relaxed and smiled.

"It's because you're out of chips, isn't it?"

"Yeah." I got up with Gunn and Fred followed. We turned around to the spot where Angel was standing and saw him gone.

"Where'd Angel go?" I asked. "He was standing right there a second ago."

"Wherever he is, I bet he's having a whole lot better luck than me."

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG GG

Gunn, Fred and I peered around the corner to see two men guarding double French doors that said Lorne on it.

"Looks like we found the place." I muttered.

"You sure?" Fred asked.

"No, I'm just staring at two doors that say Lorne on it for the hell of it. Yes, I'm sure."

"Heads of state don't get this much security." Gunn said. "Something's starting to feel a lot not right about this."

"That's what I've been saying, only with better grammar." Fred said. "Should we find Angel?"

"We're never gonna get by Bruiser One and Two over there without a fight."

"I think we can take them." I smirked. A door opened down the hallway and a green lady with horns walked out and disappeared back into the casino. "Was it just me or did she have horns?"

"Oh, that was a Lornette." Fred said. "A dancer from Lorne's show. With the make up and cloths and stuff and—why are you looking at me like that?"

"I got an idea."

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEE

I heard Fred come out of the room and walk down the hallway to the men.

"Whoa." The first guy stopped her. "What's this? He already got his drink."

"Uh, yeah, he—he did." Fred stammered. "Right. I—I know. They—they told me—I mean, they sent me to—"

"Oh, I get it. It's a little preshow diddle for the green guy, huh?"

"What?" I buried my face into my hands and let out a silent groan. "Diddle? I'm what?"

"Oh, don't be nervous. The demon, he doesn't bite."

"Oh."

"Yeah, not with his mouth anyway." Both of the men started to laugh and Fred let out a forced giggle. I shook my head in my hands.

"Wait a minute." The second guy said and Gunn peered around the corner to see what was going on. "You missed a couple of spots on your neck and behind your ear. You might wanna fix that before you go out onto stage."

"Oh, right." Fred said. "'Cause—'Cause that would've been embarrassing." She forced another giggle and Gunn leaned back against the wall again.

"She's in." He whispered. I slid down to the ground and leaned my head back and waited for my part of the action. "Evee?"

"What?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Depends on what you want to ask."

"It's about Lorne." I lifted my head and looked at him in the eye.

"What about Lorne?"

"Why didn't you come in with us back at Tropicana? I mean, I thought you would have wanted to see Lorne sing." I sighed and leaned my head back.

"Have you ever heard Fred sing?"

"Yeah and just between me and you, she's not that good." I smiled at that.

"Guess that didn't work out. Let's try it this way. The first time I walked into Caritas, was a time when Lorne was on stage singing. I mean, he was the first thing I looked at when I walked in. Our eyes locked together and the sound of his voice…mmm, his voice…it made me feel something I never felt before."

"You're not answering my question."

"The feeling was weakness. I never felt weak before. Never."

"You hate being weak."

"I don't just hate it. I'm scared of being weak. I like to feel powerful."

"So, you're saying every time you hear him sing, you get weak?"

"Yes."

"Evee, you ever thought that maybe that feeling was love?"

"Don't be stupid, Gunn." The door to the room opened and Gunn and I jumped to our feet. Fred came out screaming.

"Oh, my god!" Fred exclaimed. "It was horrible! He—he attacks me with these, um, laser beams…that—that shot out from his horns, and—and he escaped! He's gone."

"There's no other way out." The man said.

"Right. No. 'Cause—'Cause he went through some sort of—of…demon metamorphosis thing! And—and he spit out his entire skeleton, like—like—" She imitated vomiting. "Like that. And then he just—He slithered away…down the drain in the sink, in the bathroom! Hurry!"

"Security one. We have a code green. Repeat, code green." The men disappeared into the room and as soon as they passed the door, Lorne slipped out and closed the door. Gunn ran forward and grabbed a rope from a curtain to tie the door knobs together.

"Demon metamorphosis?" I questioned Fred. "Laser beams? Slithering away?"

"What?" She asked. "I was just thinking fast. I do that when I'm thinking fast."

"Uh-huh."

"What do we do now?" Gunn asked me as men banged on the door from inside the room.

"You're asking me?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Um, I say we split up. Fred and Gunn go right. Go the way we came. Lorne and I will go left and meet you, um, by, um…"

"The car?"

"Yes! The car!"

"See you on the outside, Sister." Lorne and I turned left and then right and I skidded to a halt to see two security guards blocking our paths at the end of the hallway.

"Maybe we could just go back the other way." Lorne said. I was about to agree to that when a security guard grabbed me by the throat and lifted me into the air. I gasped for air, each breath burning my throat.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to take other people's toys?" The guard growled, squeezing my throat harder. I coughed and he slapped my face. I lifted my head back up and looked in the mirror that was hanging in the hallway to see my right eye was green and my left eye yellow.

"Oh, man, you really shouldn't have done that." I gasped. I felt my soul be pulled down and be replaced my something more powerful. I didn't even try to stop it. I tore away from the man's grasp and phased. My hands and feet grew into four large furry yellow paws. My nose and mouth merged together to create a snapping, snarling green muzzle. My eyes grew further apart and my ears grew into two yellow pointed ears and the rest of my body fell into the rhythm of making me into a green furry dog. I howled in vengeance. I didn't feel like me. Of course it wasn't me. It was her. One of them. It was Honey.

_Oh, man, it feels so good to be back. Can't you feel the energy that binds us together, Evee? _Honey taunted me in my head.

_Just stop anyone that gets in our way. Do not hurt Lorne. _I said.

_Oh, I can't promise that, Evee dear. I'm ready to have fun. _Honey took complete control over my body. She leapt at the man and let electricity escape her paws as she tackled him. She charged at the other man and leapt for his throat. I felt her sink her teeth into his throat, tearing it out.

_No! _Honey turned and locked her eyes on Lorne. _Honey, no, don't. _She took a step towards him. _Honey, stop it. _

_Oh, come on, Party Pooper, let's have some fun. I am dying for some demon meat. _

_No. _I fought and fought against the cage that held me. I broke through and slammed against Honey in my mind, pushing her down and pulling my soul back up. I phased back into my normal self. I looked back into the mirror and saw my eyes were back to their normal silver and gold color. I looked back and saw the first man on the ground, blacked out, but still breathing. I looked to the second man and felt guilt immediately seize me. I ran my hands through my thick blonde hair. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I didn't mean to kill him. I didn't mean to kill him." I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned around to see Lorne. "I didn't mean to kill him, Lorne. I didn't mean to."

"It wasn't you, Evahart. It was one of them." Lorne soothed me.

"I should have stopped her. I should have known I couldn't control her. I should have stopped her. I should have stopped her, Lorne."

"Let's just get out of here before more comes, ok?" I turned back around and continued to stare at the body. "Evee." I turned back around and stared into those red eyes of love. I nodded slowly.

"Yeah, yeah, let's go." I ran down another hallway with Lorne behind me and found an exit. We eventually found our way to the car where Fred and Gunn were waiting for us.

"Okay, as soon as I find Angel, I'm bringing him right out." Gunn disappeared inside Tropicana.

"But what about his destiny?" Fred asked Lorne. "Angel's? We can't leave without getting it back."

"Yeah, well, this is Vegas, sunshine." Lorne said. "Generally speaking, you lose here, you don't get it back. Hey!" I turned around to see two guards grab Lorne. I made a move to attack them but two more grabbed me and two more after Fred.

"Now would be a great time to get angry, Evee." The guards dragged us inside the casino to Gunn and Angel. They moved us to a back room, leaving Angel behind and closing the doors behind us.

"Lorne!" A man said, standing up from a chair. "I am so relieved. I was afraid something terrible might have happened to you, missing you second show like that. All those poor, disappointed people."

"I'm sure they'll find someone else to admire and then you can let poor, disappointed Lorne go." I said. A man made a move to hit me but head chief stopped him.

"Don't."

"Damn. I was hoping to put on a show." Instead of hitting me, the man went over and slapped Fred. "Ok, now that's just uncalled for. It's just going to get me angry faster."

"Then shut your mouth." He turned his attention back to Lorne. "All I could do was refund their money and comp their rooms for the inconvenience. And my, my, what an inconvenience it was for all of us."

"Yeah, yeah, okay, Lee." Lorne said. "Okay, white flag's up. You got me. Grind your organ and I'll be your monkey. But you get nothing from me if you hurt someone else. I swear it."

_Let me out, let me out, let me out. _Honey chanted.

_Go away. _I snapped.

_Party Pooper. _Her voice drifted away.

"Lorne, sweetie, you worry too much." Lee said. "I promise. You will be the only one hurting. Your friends will be dead so quick, they won't feel a thing. Take them out into the desert and shoot them. Bring the demon. I'd like him to watch."

"Mr. De Marco." A man said.

"Not now, Spencer."

"Sir, we have a winner." I looked over a television screen to see Angel.

"That's impossible!"

"He's won a little over three hundred thousand dollars…and a car."

"Pretty good haul for somebody with no destiny, huh?" Lorne said.

"What are you doing?" Lee asked the men who were standing around. "You, you, back on the phones! And bring me that vampire, now!" A few minutes later, guards dragged Angel into the room.

"Hi." Angel greeted us emotionlessly.

"I want answers, and they better be the right ones or you're dead." Angel looked around the room, dumbfounded.

"I know this room." Spencer punched Angel in the face.

"I'll—I'll start again. Um—How did you win on that slot machine?"

"I put a quarter in the slot, I pulled that little lever thing—"

"Smart ass, isn't he?" I smirked. A guard punched me in the right cheek and pain crawled up my jaw like little tiny spiders.

"No!" Lee yelled.

"Hell yeah! Who's up next?"

"Brown and white." Fred murmured beside, obviously reading the color of my eyes.

_I will help you have courage and pride. _

_Artemis. _

_No! This is my fight! _Honey yelled.

_Silence! _Artemis said. _Be gone with you, Honey! You already killed one person today. We don't need anymore killings today. Leave my presence at once! _It felt odd having two different spirits arguing in my head.

"Evahart, just calm down." Lorne said.

"It's alright." I reassured him. "It's not her." I felt Honey leave.

_Now, Evee darling, stay calm. _I phased and shook my brown and white fur and growled furiously. _Easy, darling, easy. Not yet. _I loved Artemis. She was always so calm. Always seeing the silver lining in things. She never fought for power like Honey or many other spirits do. She lets me be in control.

"Keep an eye on her." Lee ordered. "If she moves an inch, shoot her dead. Are you playing games with me, vampire?"

"Have to play to win." Angel said.

"It was a fluke. A glitch in the machine. There's nothing there. Pay him his winnings in quarters, and take the others on their desert tour." A guard pushed Gunn to the door and Gunn turned on him but the guard punched him to the ground. Fred ran to him.

"Leave him alone!" She cried as a guard pulled her back. I snapped my jaws and growled. _Not yet, darling. _

_When? _

_Not yet, darling. _I looked towards Angel and saw his face scrunched up, his gold eyes cold and his fangs bared.

_Uh-oh. _Angel ran towards the guards and knocked them aside. _Now? _

_Now, darling. _A guard pointed a gun to Lorne's head and I leapt at him. The man cried out in pain as my gray paws burned his chest. I made a move to snatch his throat. _No, darling. _

_Yes. _Honey whispered. I could feel Honey's bloodlust.

_No, darling. It's not the way. You don't need to live with the guilt. _I slammed my paw on his head, knocking him out.

"What am I paying you people for?" Lee asked. "Shoot them!" I kicked Lorne aside as a man fired at us. I dodged the bullet and slammed my tail into his side, knocking him into a wall. I shook my head and looked to the right to see Lorne ready to smash a pretty ball of light. "We can still come to terms. Right, kid?" Lorne looked at me.

_May I? _

_Please no killing. _

_Never. _I leapt at Lee and knocked him aside as Lorne smashed the ball, releasing all the destinies.

"This room." Angel stilled looked around the room, dumbfounded, vampire fangs away. "There's something familiar—" Gunn walked up to him.

"Angel?" Gunn questioned him.

"You're my friend. I know. I'm not stupid." Gunn sighed. I looked around for anybody else to attack.

"That's it, Evahart." Lorne said, sounding every letter of my nickname. I looked around, eyes blazing.

_It's over, Darling. Let it go. No more fight here. Time to let go. You are safe. Your friends are safe. Lorne is safe. _

_Lorne? _

_Yes, he's safe. Let go. Go to him. _I relaxed and phased back. I looked at everybody.

"I'm good, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, you're back to your freaky silver and gold eyes." Gunn laughed. We walked out of the room and Angel gasped.

"Oh, now I remember that room!" He said. "Elvis and Priscilla's wedding reception, ! All right. It's not like I was, you know, really invited. They just put me near the dais. Uh-huh. I think somebody thought I was in the band, probably because I was all drunk and surly."Angel laughed. "They had these little fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches."

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL LLLLLLLLLLLLLL

"Okay, no more road trips for at least six months." Gunn said once we were out of the car and walking up to the hotel.

"I can't wait for a nice, hot bath." Fred said.

"I can't wait for a nice, long nap." I said.

"Hey, you okay?" Lorne asked Angel.

"Just thinking." Angel muttered. "It doesn't make any sense—winning on that slot machine."

"Maybe De Marco was right." Gunn said. "A glitch in the machine."

"Or maybe Lady Luck was smiling down on you." Lorne suggested.

"Mm-hmm." Angel sighed. "Lady Luck. I don't know. I just—I don't get why or how I was able to fight…when I had no reason to, no destiny."

"Even without a flight plan, bucko, you're still a stealth bomber. You were fighting for you friends' futures. The people you love are part of your destiny. Nobody can take that away, not even you. Listen, I got a lot more insightful bon mots like that, but I've been stuck in a car for five and a half hours, and I gotta pee. Excuse me." Lorne waved by to us and ran inside the hotel. Angel and I walked side by side into the hotel with Gunn and Fred behind us. We walked in and Angel and I stopped in our tracks when we saw a woman standing there in a white dress. She turned around and faced us and I gasped at who it was.

"Cordelia?"

"Who are you people?" She asked.


	2. Chapter 2

"My god!" Angel gasped. "It's you! You're back." Angel walked down the steps and walked over to Cordelia but she backed away from him. "Don't you remember?" Cordelia continued to stare at him with a confused look. "Angel. Um, you see her too, right? I'm not just—"

"No, man." Gunn said. "It's real."

"Crystal clear." I muttered. Cordelia looked at us with scared eyes.

"It's ok." Angel soothed her. "We're friends. You know us. Fred. Gunn. Evee. You're dazed or something must have—Thank god you're back."

"So we know each other?" Cordelia asked slowly.

"Yeah. Really well."

"Okay. Um, who am I?"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"What do you remember?" Angel asked.

"I don't know." Cordelia whispered. "Numbers. Animals. Flossing."

"But not us."

"Or me. I don't remember me."

"You're Cordelia Chase. You work here with us. You've been gone for a while, but you're safe now." Angel took a step towards her and she took a step back. "It's ok. W-we're friends. We're here to help you."

"I've been gone?"

"What's important is that you're back." Cordelia's head snapped up and looked up at the second floor of the hotel.

"Are there other people here?" I looked at the same spot she was looking at and saw nothing.

"Um, not to sound all movie of the week but I think you might have some kind of amnesia." Fred stated. "Like, maybe you fell or banged your head."

"Should we take her to a hospital?" Gunn questioned Angel.

"Hospital?" Cordelia asked, returning her attention back to us. "I don't need a—Not yet. Maybe later."

"I don't thing seeing a doctor will solve her problems." I whispered to Gunn.

"Neither will seeing green." Angel whispered back.

"Green? Where?" Angel's eyes flicked to the back door and I saw Lorne coming up the steps outside. "Oh. Yeah. That might freak her out. "

"You know what might help you remember? Seeing some of your things. You wanna check for her things out in the garden?" Angel shoved me towards the door and I jogged up the steps. I opened the door and turned and ran right into Lorne. I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks as I blushed.

"Sorry, can't come in this way." I turned Lorne around and pushed him to the side of the house.

"Why not?" He asked.

"Well, long story short, um, Cordelia's back and she has amnesia it seems so we couldn't exactly say _hi welcome back you're safe. Oh, by the way there's a green demon behind you. _Angel will fill you in on the rest later." I led Lorne around front through the darkness. I opened the front door and saw Cordelia looking around the hotel. "Gunn!" I growled his name through clench teeth. He looked towards me, spotted Lorne behind me and went over to Cordelia, turning her back towards us. I opened the front door more and quickly ushered Lorne in and he disappeared upstairs. I wiped the sweat from my forehead and sighed. "Well, nothing out in the garden." Fred came up the steps, pulling Gunn away from Cordelia.

"We got a demon case." She whispered to us. I threw a quick glance to Angel and he nodded, letting me know that he had it under control.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

We had just gotten back from the case and I headed to my bedroom. I was about to close the door when I heard screams downstairs. Two sets. Lorne and…Cordelia. I threw back my head and groaned. Great. Couldn't she have seen Lorne tomorrow when I had gotten some sleep? I slowly walked down the hallway to the stairs.

"Get off me!" I heard Cordelia cry.

"I'm gettin', I'm gettin'!" Lorne yelled. "Just stop with the clobbering!" I walked down the steps to the lobby and went over to help Lorne up while Angel helped Cordelia.

"Cordelia, stop it, stop it." Angel said. "It's ok, it's ok, it's ok. He's with us."

"Tell me that this is Halloween and he isn't what I think he is." Cordelia said.

"Trick or treat." Lorne mumbled.

"Don't you remember Lorne?" Fred asked, coming up from behind us. "You two were old buddies."

"Yeah. You wanna know why we call him Lorne?" Gunn asked.

"You don't want to know." I said. "The length of the name would only confusion you even more not to mention how to pronounce it. No offense, Krevlornswath." Cordelia stared at me, eyes wide. "Yeah, I know."

"What I want is answers, and I want 'em now, mister." Cordelia ordered. "I want to know what happened to your face back there. I want to know what that thing is." She pointed to Lorne.

"Hey!" Lorne and I said in unison.

"And I want to know why she has one gold eye and one silver eye."

"Okay. Maybe we haven't been a hundred percent honest…because, well, we were afraid the truth would scare you." Angel said.

"Yeah. And the lying and deceit have been so comforting."

"You're right. Our mistake. I think it's time we came clean about everything."

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG GG

"That's…everything?" Cordelia asked. Fred, Gunn, Lorne and I sat on Cordelia's bed while Angel and her stood up. Cordelia began to pace back and forth in front of the bed. She exhaled deeply. "It all makes perfect sense now. I was a cheerleader, a princess and a warrior, and I have visions, and super powers, and I'm a target of an evil law firm…because I've spent the last three months living on a higher plane, fighting for the forces of good, who wage a battle against demons and evilies and squishy bug babies, 'cause all of that is real and that's the world I live in! And—and I think I know why I don't remember any of this, 'cause, hey, who'd want to?"

"Um, Seabreeze?" Lorne asked, handing out a drink to her. I slapped him in the arm. This is no time for jokes or drinks.

"I know it's a lot to take in." Angel said.

"Says the vampire with a soul and his wacky gang of sidekicks." Cordelia snapped.

"I am not a sidekick." Gunn said.

"I think there's a way we might be able to sort this out." Angel said. Cordelia looked at him. "Pick a song." Cordelia snickered.

"Yeah, what?" She questioned him.

"So Lorne can read you." Fred explained.

"You sing, he sees you future." Gunn said. Cordelia continued to stare at us like we were crazy.

"You bare your soul when you sing." I said. "You bare your soul, your aurora comes out and with that aurora, Lorne sees your future."

"Hopefully he'll be able to explain what's happened and how we can get your memory back." Angel said.

"I can't just sing." Cordelia said. "I don't even know if I'm musical. Am I?"

"Sure. You remember any songs?" Gunn asked.

"Well, there are so many. How do I pick?"

"It doesn't really matter." Angel said.

"Sing Twinkle Twinkle little star." I said. "Happy birthday. Anything."

"Kind of a ballad man myself but, uh, just pick anything." Cordelia took a deep breath and it took all my strength not to cover my ears when she started singing poorly.

"Because the greatest." Cordelia sang. I wanted to stop her and have Lorne sing so he could resurrect my ears. "Love of all. Is happening to me. I've found the greatest. Love of all inside of me. The greatest love of all."

"Does he look a little green to you?" Fred whispered to me and Gunn, looking over at Lorne. "I mean, more than usual." I looked over at Lorne. He was mumbling to himself, eyes hard and tight as he concentrated on Cordelia.

"Is easy to achieve. Learning to love. Yourself—"

"Uh, great." Lorne said, standing up abruptly. "Enough. Okay! You were—you were great. You were great. Ev—everything's great. We're all just, uh—And I see a very, very, um—" He bolted for the door and left. I hopped off the bed and ran out the door behind.

"Lorne!" I yelled after him as I rounded a corner and followed him to his bedroom. He closed the door and locked it. "Lorne." I knocked on the door. "Lorne, open up." I knocked on the door again.

"Go away." Lorne mumbled from inside the room.

"Lorne, please. Open the door." I knocked again. "Please, Lorne." I knocked again.

"Go away."

"No. Not until you open the door." Angel came around the corner. "He locked himself inside." Angel knocked on the door. "He won't open it."

"Lorne." Angel called. "Talk to me." He tried turning the doorknob.

"If it wasn't lock, do you think I would be standing out here?"

"Why are you yelling at me?"

"I'm not yelling at you."

"Fine, then why are you scolding me like I'm a two year old."

"Cause you sure act like one for someone who's two hundred and forty eight years old."

"Two hundred and forty seven for your information."

"That's nice to know."

"What'd you see, Lorne?"

"Go away." Lorne repeated.

"If it's that bad, I need to know." Lorne opened the door and stood in the doorway.

"It's that bad. Good night." He made a move to shut the door but I managed to slip into the room, kicking Angel in the side to make him go away as I went. Lorne closed the door and looked at me with those red eyes of love. "Go away."

"Not until you tell me what you saw when you read Cordelia." I said.

"I'm not telling until you leave."

"I'm not leaving until you tell."

"Go." I looked around the room. It smelt of alcohol but it was a fruity fragrance. My silver and gold eyes landed on the bed and I walked over and flopped myself down on my left side, interlacing my fingers together and twiddling my thumbs waiting for Lorne to began the story. He sighed.

"I need details, Lorne."

"And I got none. Just a—a splitting migraine, a tummy full of rattlesnakes, and a strong suspicion I'm gonna lose my lunch again…if I don't start drinking myself silly."

"Come on, Lorney Tunes. You gotta give me something." Lorne sighed again at my nickname for him.

"Do the words slouching towards Bethlehem ring a bell? Or how about despair, torment, terror? And I'm not referring to little missy's choice of song either—although that was horrifying in its own right. Woof. What I saw was jumbled. It was pieces, flashes. It was enough to make my skin crawl away and scamper underneath the bed. Evil's comin', Evee, and—and it's planning on staying."

"Is that all?"

"All that I can put into words." I sighed and got up from the bed and walked over to Lorne. I took a deep breath and stood on my toes to plant a kiss on his right cheek.

"Thank you, Lorne." I reached for the doorknob but something stopped me. _Please, no, go away. _

_Your heart is free. Have the courage to follow it. _I threw a quick glance to a piece of glass on the stand beside the door. My left eye was pure white and my right eye was as pink as bitter cold wind biting at a bare cheek.

_Please, not now, Saga. I'm not ready. _

_You are. Follow your heart. _She took control over my body and turned me around. She took a step towards Lorne and grabbed his face in his hands and bruised her lips with hers. I fought against her but I ended up relaxing into the kiss. I felt the warmth of the lips, the electricity of the cells being sparked to life. I felt Saga begin to let go of the power. _Follow your heart. _Her voice drifted off into the shadows and I broke off the kiss once I felt her leave. I looked down at my feet and panted, my cheeks flushing red.

"I—um, I better go, and, uh, tell Angel, what you, um, what you told me." I turned quickly on my heels and left the room.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEE

"What the hell is this?" I demanded, walking down the steps to the lobby, looking for Angel. Angel, Gunn and Fred were all hovering over a man, er creature, that was dead on the ground. I grimaced at his mouth that was split into four.

"How could you have let her wander off alone?" Angel questioned Fred and Gunn.

"The words grown woman come to mind." Fred said.

"And the gal does have a history of whuppin' ass and can she really turn me into a rat?" Gunn asked Fred. Fred shook her head.

"Wolfram and Hart came back?" Angel mumbled to himself. "What if there were hundreds of those things?"

"What if this is the way it starts?" I muttered. "I mean, the slouching and the Bethlehem, and they've taken her because of what she knows, even if she can't remember she knows it."

"Wait, you got Lorne to talk?"

"Is there something you're not telling us?" Fred asked.

"Oh, there's a somethin' but this isn't it." Lorne said, coming into the lobby, drink in hand. "That was just a client of mine who had a fatal habit of snackin' on humans."

"You let it in here with Cordy?" Angel demanded.

"Hello?" Fred broke up the conversation. "Back to the something. Is that way you ran out while Cordelia was singing?"

"Well, A, I wasn't running, I was fleeing. And, B, yes."

"How horrible is this thing?" Gunn asked.

"Well, I haven't read the Book of Revelations lately, but if I was searching for adjectives, I'd probably start there."

"Well, is that all you saw?" Angel asked.

"That was just the tip of the berg, Angelhart. What I got from Cordy was dense." Angel walked over to the weapon wardrobe and opened it. "A big, fat tummy-clenchin' onion from hell. The more layers you peel, the more you cry. Or vomit, in this case." Angel handed weapons to Gunn and Fred and tossed a sword to me. I got it with one hand and tossed it back to him.

"Uh-uh, gimme my damn bow and arrow, you crazy son of a bitch." I snapped. "You think I'm going to do close range combat. You must be crazy." He tossed my bow and my quiver.

"But I'll tell ya. This is one itch that Daddy's done a-scratchin'."

"Hey, look, we gotta find Cordelia before—We have to find her." Angel said. "She's out there alone with no memory. Probably terrified."

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

"She's got to be around somewhere close." I heard Fred said. Her and Fred were at the counter looking at a map.

"Then Angel'll find her." Gunn said. Lorne sat on the chair and I sat on the floor, cross legged, trying to contact the spirits within me. I gripped my knees with my hands as I traveled deeper and deeper into my mind. My eyes were wide open but I couldn't see any light. All I saw was darkness. "Freaky."

"What?"

"Her eyes are like a disco. Changing colors so fast."

"Focus, Charles. What if she's not on her own? What if she's been taken or—"

"She's out there somewhere."

_Spirits inside of me. Spirits that guide. That control me. I seek for your guidance now. A girl—_

_We know the situation, Evee. _An old weary voice said. _Our minds are connected with your mind. _

_Then, you can help us find her, right?_

_Wrong._

_What? _

_We can not help you, Evee. You must help yourself. _

_There has to be a spirit that can help me find her. _

_Oh, there is but he agrees with the rest of us. You need to help yourself. _

_How can I help myself when I don't know what it is I should be helping myself with? _

_Saga already put you on the path. You need to finish it on your own. _

_Lorne. _

_Precisely. You and him were always destined to be together. A no violence soul with a fighting soul. Yin and Yang. One cannot live without the other. _

_I'm not good enough for him. _

_Believe in what you're worth. You are valuable. _

_I need to find Cordelia! _

_The things you have lost will come back by themselves. _The connection between me and the spirit broke and I closed my eyes and reopened them to see the lobby again. I staggered to my feet. 

"Well?" Angel asked, impatiently.

"Nothing." I muttered. Angel threw his hands up in defeat.

"Nothing. We're gonna have to widen the search. Call hospitals, police stations. She couldn't have just disappeared." We stared at him. "Ok, once, but not again. Somebody has to know where Cordelia is."

"I do." We turned and saw Wesley standing on top of the landing looking down at us. "A bit careless, misplacing her after all the effort to find her."

"We didn't find her. She just showed up…with no memory, no idea who she is or where she's been."

"Fresh start. Doesn't sound so bad."

"What do you know?"

"Wolfram and Hart are planning to extract her."

"Already tried." Gunn updated him.

"They'll try again. She might have spent some time with the Powers That Be. Wolfram and Hart will consider her valuable. And I'll doubt your boy will be able to stop them." Wesley looked hard at Angel. Your boy? Connor? Cordelia's with Connor?

"My—" Angel seemed to have a hard time getting the word out. "She's with Connor. You have that good on authority?" _Thank you, weary old voice inside my head. _

"You don't seem too concerned."

"Connor's my son. I'm sure he's taking excellent care of her. But we should go over and help out." We headed to the door with me bringing up the end.

_Be careful every moment. _A male voice said. I looked in the glass doors. A pair of pink and red eyes stared back at me. My stomach twisted into a tight knot as I got a bad feeling that something would happen is I left.

"On second thoughts, I'm going to stay here." I said. "Protect base, you know."

"Good thinking, Evee." Angel said and the rest of them left.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I sat in a chair and Lorne sat in the chair across from me in the lobby. There was an awkward silence between us.

"So," He said.

"So," I echoed.

"That kiss."

"The kiss."

"That was…it was sudden."

"You can blame Saga."

"Who?"

"A spirit in my head. A love spirit. She kind of caught me off guard and took control. But that, um, those last few seconds she left."

"So it was actually you who deepen the kiss?"

"I did not!"

"You did too." I slouched in my chair and grumbled, knowing that he was right. It was me. That actual me. I sighed.

"You know, Saga doesn't come out unless she has to ignite a spark.

"So, you're saying that because you were already in love with me, Saga came out?" Before I could blurt the rest of my feelings to him, the front burst opened and men in black uniforms came filing in gun in hand. I jumped up and faced the men. My eyes went yellow and orange and I phased. My skin grew orange fur and a yellow mane of fur formed around my tail as well as on top of my head and my tail. My body grew hotter and hotter with heat as the spirit coursed through my veins. _Nikita. _I ran at the first man but I didn't even get half way when I slammed into the side and knocked aside. I laid on my back as Nikita slowly faded away, losing energy and a hellhound stood over top of her, teeth bare. Nikita looked to the left and I saw men dragging Lorne towards Angel's office. Fear gripped me. _No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO! Please, no. Lorne! _Nikita put her paws on the hellhound's chest and I could feel her burning the hellhound with the heat inside of her but the hellhound took no notice. She gathered up all of her strength and slammed her head into its chest sending it back. Nikita got to her feet and growled furiously at it, flames coming up from her paws. _Nikita, Lorne. Please, help Lorne. _Nikita looked towards the office and that's when everything went black.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

"Evee! Wake up! Evee!" A voice sounded through the darkness. The voice was sweet and soft. Soft like an angel's…Angel! I fought to open my eyes and looked up into the brown eyes. I sat straight up and remembered what happened.

"Lorne." I breathed. I scrambled to my feet and rushed towards Angel's office with Fred, Gunn and Angel behind me. I opened the door and gasped. Lorne was tied to a chair, gag in his mouth. The left side of his face was beaten and blood dripped from his forehead. "No, no, no." I rushed to his side and quickly removed the gag as he began to come back from oblivion.

"Oh, my god." Fred gasped.

"Lorne?" Angel called out.

"Is he alive?" Lorne moaned as he began to wake up. Gunn and Fred untied him and I rushed to go get a piece of gauze. I came back and gingerly pressed it to his forehead.

"Lorne, I am so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, sorry." I apologized.

"What happened?" Angel asked. "Who did this?" Tears streamed down my face as I gingerly touched his face where bruises were beginning to form. I couldn't answer. I was scared that I would break down.

"W—w—" Lorne tried to sound out the word.

"Wesley?" Gunn asked. "Not again?" I shook my head.

"Wolfram and Hart?" Angel asked. I nodded.

"Ok, but—but why? I thought Cordy was their target."

"They must have known that Lorne read her."

"So are you saying that the slam dance at Connor's place was decoy?"

"And we fell for it like a bunch of rookies. They weren't after Cordy, they were after what Lorne saw when she sang."

"They sucked it out of his head?" Fred asked.

"How much? What'd they get?"

"They had a hellhound." I breathed, my voice shaking as I fought to keep the tears back. "The hellhound came after me to keep me busy while they took Lorne in here to get information. They had a demon by the smell of it."

"I wouldn't talk…" Lorne's voice trailed off. "The thing burrowed inside…and it—it took Cordy out."

"Lorne, how much did they get?" Angel demanded.

"All of it." I knelt down on Lorne's right side and buried my face into his arm. I shouldn't have distracted Nikita. I should have let her deal with the hellhound. She could have taken it out and she could have saved Lorne before this could have happened.

"They tricked us." Fred said.

"Wolfram and Hart or Wesley?" Gunn asked. "He's the one who showed up with the hot tip about Junior. How do we know that he's not playin' us?"

"We don't." Angel said. "But what we do know is that Wolfram and Hart…may now know more about Cordy's doom and gloom thing than we do. And that's a problem." Angel and Gunn helped Lorne from the chair and help him up the steps to his room.

"It's my fault." I breathed.

"It's not your fault, Evee." Fred said.

"I shouldn't have distracted my spirit. I should have just let her taken care of it."

"You were thinking about Lorne. You love him and all you could do was make sure he was safe and that was what you were trying to do. I'm going to go and see if Lorne's hungry. It's not your fault." She left the office.

"It is my fault."

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG GG


End file.
